Watchmen

Saw Watchmen tonight. It was a very visually stimulating nearly 3-hour thrill-fest. There were some elements that I was very impressed by. The music was amazing, Leonard singing Hallelujah, another Leonard tune, 3 Dylan, Kristofferson, Paul Simon! Rorschach was an amazing character with great depth. A true hero. I could have done without a few elements and I think this graphic novel truly might be unfilmable. There is just so much material to work with. One can either adapt and lose the essence or spend way too much time telling the story correctly to make it interesting. There were some goofy moments and some really profound entire theatre clapping moments. I admire the film and the story a great deal. I will certainly want this piece of pop-culture in my DVD collection someday.

Waltz with Bashir

I went to see "Waltz with Bashir" this weekend. I had no idea what i was getting myself into. I wish it had been eligible for Documentary and Animated Film categories and won all three awards at the Oscars (it lost Foreign Language film). The subject matter dealt with is something I am far too ignorant about. It dealt with events that I was never taught about and have never schooled myself about. Thankfully, I believe this film did a stellar job of schooling me on some of these events and themes. Beyond the subject matter, I was deeply taken in by the artistry of the film, both visually and the way the story was told. The animation was something special, the music seemed perfect in both soothing and irritating ways, and the plot devices that told the story were imaginative and compelling. As a person with very little access to my own memory, I find stories that deal with memory to draw me in on a very special level. Using the interviews with others to tell the overall story and to figure out the storytellers own personal story felt very real and fascinating. I think it told the story in a way that kept me interested (not that the subject matter was uninteresting!). Overall, I was deeply impressed.

I once again found myself in a situation where I believe I was the only person in a theatre not crying during or at the end of a film. I don't want to be this thick skinned. I want images of war and pain to bring me to tears, but they don't. Maybe someday I might cry again.